Updated 8:48 am, Thursday, February 16, 2017

City won't appeal voting caseThe city of Pasadena will not fight an appellate court ruling over its election system, a decision that will allow the upcoming May council elections to proceed with eight-single member district seats, according to the lead attorney for the city in the closely watched voting rights case.

>>>Scroll through the gallery to see some throwback pictures of Pasadena

City won't appeal voting case
The city of Pasadena will not fight an appellate court ruling over its election system, a decision that will allow the upcoming May council elections to proceed with eight-single ... more

These images are from the City of Pasadena's Pomeroy collection of historical photos. The photographs, used in the book "Pasadena, the Early Years" by historian C. David Pomeroy, are now housed in the Pasadena Public Library.

These images are from the City of Pasadena's Pomeroy collection of historical photos. The photographs, used in the book "Pasadena, the Early Years" by historian C. David Pomeroy, are now housed in the Pasadena ... more

The city of Pasadena will not fight an appellate court ruling over its election system, a decision that will allow the upcoming May council elections to proceed with eight-single member district seats, according to the lead attorney for the city in the closely watched voting rights case.

The elections will proceed under the district format and will not using six neighborhood council and two at-large seats, a system a district judge ruled was discriminatory against Latino voters.

The city, through its attorneys, sought a stay of Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal's order, but the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of appeals upheld the order.

The city will continue to appeal the judge's ruling, which also ordered Pasadena to again obtain preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before making additional changes to its election system.

Pasadena changed the election system shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out key provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act, including the requirement for preclearance in Texas and other sttes with a history of discrimination.

According to a lawyer for a Mexican national sentenced to eight years in prison for voter fraud in Texas, President Donald Trump's widely debunked claims of election rigging was "the 800-pound gorilla" in the jury box.
This week, 37 year old Rosa Maria Ortega, was convicted in Fort Worth on two felony counts of illegal voting over allegations that she improperly cast a ballot five times between 2005 and 2014.

Media: MediaOS Video

>>>Scroll through the above gallery to see throwback photos from Pasadena